


The Sword in the Stone

by Owlwithafringe



Series: The Merlin Arts Fest [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mention of Canon and slight Canon Divergence, Set Modern Day, Some Canon ignored for the sake of the story, Spoilers for Season 5 Finale, The Merlin Arts Fest 2014, Told like a fairytale, characters only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 14:41:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2028870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlwithafringe/pseuds/Owlwithafringe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knew about the legendary Sword in the Stone, for it was a popular tale for miles around but strangely enough no-one knew the truth about the mysterious sword. No-one knows who put it there or how long it had been there or why it was there. It seemed like it had always been there, just apart of the landscape. Something permenant and eternal and forever.</p><p>But most of all no-one knew why it can't be moved from the famous rock in which it was originally wedged in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sword in the Stone

**Author's Note:**

> So this is week 2's entry for the Merlin Arts Fest 2014. It's really late and i feel like an awful human being but it's been a mixture of moving house, laziness and busyness (i've been doing a lot of volunteer work lately.)
> 
> Anyway this is the picture prompt of Arthur's sword in the stone. I wanted to something a bit different, rather focusing on the object and telling it like a fairytale, from the modern day's perspective. I took some creative licence here, and really tried hard to find something that was a little out of the box.
> 
> Let me know what you think by leaving comments with feedback and kudos.

Everyone knew about the legendary Sword in the Stone, for it was a popular tale for miles around but strangely enough no-one knew the truth about the mysterious sword. No-one knows who put it there or how long it had been there or why it was there. It seemed like it had always been there, just apart of the landscape. Something permenant and eternal and forever.

But most of all no-one knew why it can't be moved from the famous rock in which it was originally wedged in.

It caused quite the controvecy, bringing in many curious tourists, though oddly enough no-one ever thought to try and capitalise on it, simply choosing to leave the site be. There were so many myths surrounding the seemingly innocent sword, about it's origin and owner. Some people believed it was put there by a witch who had cursed a nobleman who tried to kill her with it after she had come to him for help, and that he would only be able to reclaim it once he had proved his worth. People who claimed to be experts believed it was a Victorian fake, placed there around one hundred and fifty years ago by frauds trying to trick historians into giving them payment for their ancient 'find'. They explained that the sword was stuck simply because it had rusted into the stone.

The favoured tale however, the one that was told to the children at bedtime, was that of a tragic young king, who died heroically in a fierce battle, fighting for a world free of cruelty and enslavement. And it also happenend to be the one closest to the truth. 

The tales spoke of the young King who ruled over his kingdom during a time of peace, with his Queen, a wise and beautiful women, renound for her kindness who was originally a princess from a far, exotic land. The kingdom was safe guarded by its knights, the most well trained and noble in all the lands, and the kingdom's Court Sorcerer. The Sorcerer and the King were close, the Sorcerer not only protecting the kingdom but advising it's Rulers. The tales say of how he was the most powerful sorcerer ever to have existed. 

However the peace was broken by a powerful Sorcereress who wanted to enact revenge on the King for her dead son who had been executed for high treason. She wanted to kill the King and take the throne for herself so she could wage wars on other kingdoms so that everyone would know the pain she felt. 

In the final battle between the young King and the Sorcereress, the King and the Court Sorcerer with their army faught against her, until the King served her a fatal blow. But before she perished, she also delivered him one in return as she lay bleeding on the ground.

It is said that the King's sword was placed in the stone by the Court Sorcerer in memorial to his late king and as symbol to the kingdoms of hope, and that good would prevail.

But that's where the fact and fiction diverge from one another. 

The kingdom was indeed largely at peace but magic was outlawed, punishable by death. This meant that there were many risings and attacks by the magic folk within the kingdom. And it was true, the Queen was both wise and kind but had come from much more humble of beginnings, going from being a servant and daughter of a blacksmith to a Queen of a flourishing kingdom. The knights were also real but the tale however fails to mention that the witch was actually the sister of the King, who rose up against him because she believed herself to be the rightful heir and so that magic could once again rule the land, and that it was actually her second in command, a Druid boy who killed the King. The King did though, like in the tale, return the favour to his eventual murderer.

What was never mentioned in the story though, is whilst the King had a Queen who he did indeed adore, they both found love in the beds of others. The Queen with the King's First Knight, the most loyal and noble of the knights, and the King with the Court Sorcerer. The Sorcerer however never was the Court Sorcerer - not in the king's lifetime at any rate - but actually his Manservant and closest friend. The Manservant hid his magic for many years, until that fateful day.

The Manservant had to reveal himself to try and save his King, winning the battle that his friends would have lost, but still was unable to save the King. He desperately tried to save his King and love, prepared to give anything for him to live but the fates were harsh and took away the thing he treasured most of all. 

He screamed and wept over the body before finally gathering himself enough to give his King the funeral that he deserved. 

The kingdom was safe, and the Sorcereress and her army were defeated once and for all. 

But the Sorcerer did something odd and placed his King's sword in the stone with a heart overflowing with grief, but with a small amount of hope.

Hope that the prophecies were true, and that one day he would rise again and they would be reunited. He placed the sword there so should his King ever needed it, only he could pull it out and he left it there as a reminder to himself of the past.

But months, turned into years, and the years into the centuries, and the tales turned into legends and myths, becoming more distorted each time it was told. Fifteen hundred years passed, and the King rested in Avalon until his Kingdom called on him once again and his Sorceror wandered the Earth, enduring more joy and heartbreak than one human should ever experience in his lifetime.

But the world didn't yet need it's heroes, so the sword stood where it had remained for over a millenia whilst the world continued turning and forgot about it's story, waiting patiently for it's King and his Sorcerer to reclaim it once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments, feedback is always appreciated and motivates me to write more! Come and find me on Tumblr at **[Owlwithafringe](http://owlwithafringe.tumblr.com/)** , to see updates on fics or to leave me a prompt.


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